Hillock Is Fired by Loyola After Two Winning Seasons

Jay Hillock, who had a winning record as Loyola Marymount’s basketball coach but failed to live up to the high standards set by predecessor Paul Westhead, was fired Friday.

During his two seasons as coach, Loyola was 31-28 overall and finished second and third in the West Coast Conference. His two-year contract expires in September.

Athletic Director Brian Quinn said Loyola will conduct a national search for a replacement, preferably hiring a coach who has had success on the NCAA Division I level.

Although Hillock’s teams were usually competitive, they fell short of the achievements of the 1990 Loyola team that reached the final eight of the NCAA tournament in the last of Westhead’s five seasons as coach. The Lions gained national exposure that season with an exciting, run-and-gun game that featured Bo Kimble and Jeff Fryer after the death of Hank Gathers in the WCC tournament.

Living up to the memory of the 1990 team wasn’t easy for Hillock, who had trouble keeping players and fans happy. Loyola was upset in the first round of the WCC tournament in each of the last two seasons, effectively eliminating the team from postseason consideration.

“I don’t like losing in the first round of the (WCC) tournament,” Quinn said earlier this week. “I think in some ways the basketball team was a disappointment. I thought we would be better than we were.”

Hillock, 42, said Loyola was hurt by the transfer of 6-foot-10 center Richard Petruska to UCLA. Without their leading rebounder from the 1990-91 season, the Lions were outrebounded in several games.

“I’m sure we would have had four or five more wins with (Petruska) in the lineup,” said Hillock, whose team was 15-13 overall and 8-6 in the WCC.